HOMEWARD BOUND

Today I'm delighted to be participating in the Book Tour of Richard Smith's Homeward Bound hosted by Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources, the other participants of which are linked to below in the Blog Tour Schedule .

ISBN  978-1838591595

Homeward Bound features 79-year-old grandfather George, who didn’t quite make it as a rock star in the ‘60s. He’s expected to be in retirement but in truth he’s not ready to close the lid on his dreams and will do anything for a last chance. When he finds himself on a tour of retirement homes instead of a cream tea at the seaside his family has promised, it seems his story might prematurely be over.

​

He finds the answer by inviting Tara, his 18-year-old granddaughter, to share his house, along with his memories and vast collection of records. She is an aspiring musician as well, although her idea of music is not George’s. What unfolds are clashes and unlikely parallels between the generations – neither knows nor cares how to use a dishwasher – as they both chase their ambitions.

- Summary

There were two things George Turnbull treasured above all else.

- First Sentence

Toby made a shaking gesture that mocked his father-in-law.

Almost on cue, George's hands began to tremble. Wine slopped over the lip of the glass and dripped down the stem.

"Watch out!" Toby barked. This served only to agitate George into tilting the glass, with the result that a wave of wine splashed across Phyllis's special occasion white lace tablecloth. To cover his embarrassment, he put down the glass and grabbed his napkin to staunch the flow. In the confusion that followed, with Tara, Bridget and Mark all reaching across the table to mop up the spilt wine with whatever came to hand, Gerald's glass of wine was toppled, along with the gravy boat.

Phyllis bravely reassured them with a calm 'never mind, but it was clear that this tablecloth would see no further active service.

George was surveying the carnage before him. He felt he should apologise. What he actually said was, "What a waste of good wine."

- Memorable Moment, Page 152

MY THOUGHTS ... Coerced into visiting a succession of homes for the elderly (waiting rooms for the dying as George thinks of them) on the pretence of a family outing, what will happen when, neither of them exactly house trained; the dishwasher something of a mystery to them both, George tidy, Tara, hmm, not so tidy, Tara's boyfriend Mark's music unlike any music George had heard (he imagines 'inmates of Guantanamo Bay facing similar barrages of torturous noise), its agreed that Tara will move in with her grandfather?

A bittersweet story of growing older, of fulfilling your dreams ... no matter what your age. Left feeling all warm and fuzzy as I thought back on my relationship with my own grandfather and the brief spell I spent living with him, Homeward Bound is largely but not exclusively the inter-generational tale of grandfather, George and granddaughter, Tara who on the face of it are two very different people and yet, as it turns out, have so much more in common than it at first seems; their love of music being the common denominator, that they both face uncertain futures something that draws them even closer.

Simply and yet beautifully told, well observed, funny and oh so moving; Toby's (George's son-in-law) constant mocking and putting down of his father-in-law moved me to tears as did the section of the book in which George, recently introduced to the World Wide Web, innocently types into a search engine only to discover that he's opened ... well, you can imagine - only these were tears of laughter.

That I found myself invested in all the characters in the way that I did, yes, even the ones I grew to despise, a sure sign of an author with a promising future ahead of them, I'm already longing to know what's next.

SUMMED UP IN A SENTENCE ... A warm and charming debut novel with memorable characters, the tunes/bands entwined in the narrative a nice touch - be warned there are any number of potential earworms.

INFORMATION ABOUT HOMEWARD BOUND ...
Genre: Contemporary fiction, Book group
Publication Date: 28th January 2020
Estimated Page Count - 304
Standalone Novel
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Homeward-Bound-Richard-Smith/dp/1838591591

ABOUT RICHARD SMITH ... Richard Smith is a writer and storyteller for sponsored films and commercials, with subjects as varied as caring for the elderly, teenage pregnancies, communities in the Niger delta, anti- drug campaigns and fighting organised crime. Their aim has been to make a positive difference, but, worryingly, two commercials he worked on featured in a British Library exhibition, ‘Propaganda’.

FOLLOW RICHARD SMITH ... 
Richard's Blog ~ Twitter


BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE ...
July 12th: Reviews in Heels ~ HannahLovesToRead ~ Books Are Cool
July 13th: Annasadventuresinbookland ~ Being Anne ~ Cheryl M-M's Book Blog
July 14th: Northernreader ~  Literate Littles ~ Curled up with a good book
July 15th: Felicity Grace Terry ~ donnasbookblog ~ BookBeforeULeap
July 16th: Radzy Writes ~ Jazzy Book Reviews ~ BetweenTheLines
July 17th: c.isfor.claire_reads ~ Novel Kicks ~  Minimac Reviews
July 18th: Karen K is reading ~ The Magic Of Wor(l)ds ~ Tizi’s Book Review
July 19th: Chez Maximka ~  B for bookreview ~ Little Miss Book Lover 87
July 20th: Rhirhireader ~ Ellesea Loves Reading ~ Stardust Book Reviews
July 21st: just_a_girl_who_loves_to_read ~ What Rebecca's Read ~ Splashes Into Books

My thanks to Rachel for organising this tour and making sure I got a paper copy.